Suul'ka
"We are the Great Old Ones, the eldest of the eld. In aeons past, we threw off gravity's chains. Clad in steel, we folded space, and left the prison of world-sea forever. We reject the bonds of superstition and doubt. We live the life eternal. We are free. Free from faith. Free from guilt. Free from death. Our children swore to love us, feed us, care for us always. They promised to serve us with their tiny lives. They lied. All but the strongest of us died, asleep or feeding. Seven of us crawled away, poisoned, raging, driven deep into the dark. Wounded, barely alive, we slept... and healed... and hated. The vermin in the cracks of the galaxy have grown into a squealing throng. They do not fear their elders, the pure minds of shining ice! But time heals all. And now, we have awakened. Renewed, strong. The baying of our loyal pets calls us back to war! This time, we will not be stopped. Not by spear. Not by shield. Not by armor. Not by arrow. And not by sword! In a universe where resistance is extinction, Suul'ka must be obeyed. We are your masters. Your season in the sun has passed. Now you will tremble... before the Lords of Winter." - ''Unidentified Suul'ka History "Suul'ka" is a fairly universal word for "enemy" among the Liir. The Liir seem to use this word interchangeably with the name of an enemy race and a type of thought and behavior. "Suul'ka" as an adjective, adverb or noun seems to describe a state of thinking/acting which comprises sadism and the will to dominate, subjugate, kill and destroy. The closest Human equivalent would probably be some combination of "evil" and "entropy". A serial killer is "suul'ka"; a Death Camp is staffed by "suul'ka" and operated on the principles of "suul'ka". Before the coming of the Zuul, it had been hinted that this word may actually have existed in the Liir language prior to their first contact with the race now known by the name, but obviously it was, and to an extent still is, difficult to gather information on this subject as the Liir are notoriously difficult to question about it. This is in part because the Liir do not wish to remember their time of servitude and its aftermath, and also because they do not wish to share any information which might put them at risk of repeating either experience. No Human has ever seen a Suul'ka and we have no real idea what their ships looked like or how the Liir adapted their technology for their own use. What is known is that the Liir were conquered and enslaved by the Suul’ka—a period known as the Domination. Like many other seemingly "primitive" cultures, Liirian bio-science and ecological capability was actually much more advanced than the technologies of metallurgy and manufacturing. The Suul’ka established several lucrative industries on Muur, the Liirian homeworld, and force-marched the Liirians through the Industrial Revolution by employing them as slaves in mines, factories and manufacturing facilities. This period of industrialization lasted for more than a century. After several decades of abuse the Liir rebelled against their alien masters. The war was remarkably bloody in its early stages but finally ended when the Liir unleashed a bioweapon tailored to Suul’ka physiology on Muur. It is impossible at this point to say what agent the Liir may have used or what vectors it followed. We only know that the resulting disease was so virulent and lethal that it appears to have quickly spread beyond the colony and completely eradicated the Suul’ka, at least from nearby sectors of space. It is of note that bioweapons, although lethal, are by nature not 100% reliable and that it is possible that remnants of the Suul'ka remain. If so however, they will be in for a shock if they decide to return to reclaim dominion over their former slaves. Space-faring was not a large step for the Liir after the Suul'ka were driven off; some Suul'ka facilities had already been partially adapted to use them as slave labor. The chief obstacle was breaking down the principles of their drive system and changing the construction facilities at the Suul'ka stardocks to produce Liir-friendly ships. The current state of Liirian technology is a result of their successful rebellion. Prior to the invasion of the Suul'ka, the Liir would have been roughly equivalent to a Bronze Age culture. The former slaves of the Suul’ka quickly absorbed the abandoned technology of their old masters and have adapted the old drives, guns and orbital elevators to their own use. It is the intention of the Liir to never submit to Suul'ka again. What is a Suul'ka? What is a Suul’ka, literally? From the Zuul religious and military perspective it is the ultimate weapon. Suul'ka are titanic cetacean god-kings ranging from 1300 to 2500 meters in length, dressed in armoured battlesuits fitted with a variety of conventional weapons and defenses, and additionally armed with immensely powerful psionic abilities, which can be used in both strategic and tactical play. The literal translation of the phrase “Suul’ka” in the Liir language is “Winter Mind”. Ka is a word with multiple meanings, including “breath”, “life”, “soul” and “mind”. Telepathic communication is called kanayma, “souls joining”. Suul is literally “ice”, specifically the pack ice at the poles of Muur, the Liir home world. The polar ice on Muur grows so thick that even a huge Elder’s back cannot break it. Suul is killing cold, suffocating cold, cold that shuts out life and breath, that deafens and stills all voices. The two terms knitted together refer to a unfeeling enemy, devoid of empathy and motivated by the ultimate in arrogant, whimsical cruelty. Over the course of the last 320,000 years, over twenty Great Elders went mad on Muur, enslaved their people and force-marched them through a rapid industrial revolution in order to build a single high-tech battlesuit. Once this suit was complete, each Suul’ka teleported from the ocean of Muur into space. Within the teleport sphere was the Elder’s armoured body and many metric tons of sea water, held in a pressurized sphere. In vacuum this icy shell froze, and the first act of the new-born Suul’ka was to shatter the cocoon of ice and swim away into the void, to become immortal. It is the nature of this icy re-birth, as well as their cold sociopathic personalities, which give the Suul’ka the title “Lords of Winter”. In the millennia that have passed since the first Suul’ka rose from the waters of Muur, they have traveled throughout the galaxy, teleporting from place to place to satisfy their curiosity, indulge their appetites, and wreak thousands of years of havoc on lesser beings. The Lords of Winter As the Winter Wars begin, the Liir are struggling with both terror and shame. Now that the Suul'ka have returned, the Liir are no longer able to hide the truth: The Suul'ka, who made them slaves and killed thousands of them at regular intervals for millennia, are nothing more and nothing less than their own Great Elders run mad, placing their own existence and their own needs above all else. It is a form of insanity that can only exist in the eldest of their people...that single Liir who becomes so ancient and powerful that his telepathic will can dominate and control the entire race. The majority of Liir elders choose to relinquish life and simply let themselves die when they eventually become too huge to continue swimming and breathing. But every so often over the course of their history, the eldest have rejected death and chosen to live forever. These Suul'ka force marched the entire species through a rapid industrial revolution, making the younger Liir work as slaves to forge very special suits of armor designed to gird the great elder for the transition from sea to space. The very first jump from their oceanic origin into orbit always brings with it a sphere of salt water, which freezes instantly in a vacuum. Shattering this cocoon of ice is the moment of rebirth, when a "winter mind" becomes truly immortal. These Suul'ka are the immortal gods of the Zuul who have returned to rule and to punish all those who dare to oppose them. Dressed in high-tech battle suits and using powerful psionic abilities they can literally fold space, transporting their own massive bodies and even hundreds of tons of other material that surrounds them. The combination of icy rebirth, sociopathic madness and relentless will to power has earned them the name "Lords of Winter". 'Suul'ka and the Liir' The Liir empire and its interstellar navy were created for no other purpose than to find and destroy the surviving Suul'ka that previous generations had unleashed on the universe. Only the leader of the Liir naval forces, the great elder known only as The Black, has ever battled the Suul'ka face-to-face and lived. The Black himself was the "living weapon" launched 200 years ago to battle the Suul'ka in deep space. He has killed at least one of the Suul'ka and possibly dozens of them, leaving their empty armor in derelict fragments throughout the sector. 'Suul'ka and the Zuul' The author of the Zuul's existence was a brilliant bioscientist among the Suul'ka; so gifted in his manipulation of life as an art form that they call him "He Who Shapes". For more than a century after they were created, the entire Zuul race worshiped the Suul'ka, in general, as gods and He Who Shapes, in particular, as the "father-creator" of their species. Recently, however, some members of the Zuul race have begun to see things differently. Led by a single Zuul known as the Deacon these rebellious Zuul have rejected the divinity of the Suul'ka and adopted a new way of life. Instead of serving the Suul'ka, they have joined with the Liir to form a new faction called the Liir-Zuul Alliance. Meanwhile, Zuul who retain their traditional values and culture have evolved into a more sophisticated version of their former cruel glory and call themselves the Suul'ka Horde. 'Suul'ka and the Morrigi' When the Morrigi first met the other Races in space, their tribes were suffering in the aftermath of an incredibly costly war with the Suul'ka. A sizable percentage of all Morrigi fleets had been wiped out, as well as the majority of their colonies. As they recuperated and tried to move in to recover their lost territory, the Morrigi discovered that the younger races had already claimed dozens of ripe worlds and even looted some of the ancient Morrigi tombs. After their initial anger and a century or two to think it over, the Morrigi decided that rather than try to evict the new tenants of the galaxy, they would appoint themselves to serve and protect all of the people of ''any race who would otherwise be unable to defend themselves and remain free. That said, the Morrigi still remember the Suul'ka with great hatred and fear. They want blood, and they have a particular grudge against a Suul'ka known as the Siren, who led countless Morrigi fleets to their doom. 'Suul'ka and the Humans' The only known contact so far was Black 20, presumably a Suul'ka which hit the Argos Naval Yard and took the SFS-1 Leviathan with all hands without firing a shot. 'Suul'ka and Hivers/Tarkas' There is presently no known history between Suul'ka and either of the Hivers or the Tarkas. Altars and the Heralds The Altar is the highest level of Tribute Station. Tribute stations, generally speaking, are the Zuul answer to the problem of "diplomacy". Like the diplomatic stations of other races, Tribute Stations are designed and built to create bonds and connections with neighboring sentient species. The bonds and connections of diplomacy, however, are generally those of common financial interests and mutual respect; Tribute Stations are devoted to creating bonds of terror and intimidation. Many of the most gifted Zuul are engaged in tributary service. Imperators control fleets of slavers who make random terror attacks on alien worlds, targeting all species, in particular independents. From these worlds they bring back countless victims of every known sentient race. The majority of beings taken as cargo are sold on the open market and traded at breeding stations throughout the empire, to serve as labor and fodder for rank and file Zuul...but certain select victims are taken to the Tribute stations and offered to a special elite priesthood known as the Heralds. Simply put, at every tribute station the Heralds are the ruling elite. Unlike most male Zuul, Heralds do not keep a coterie, and perform all tasks, including the most menial, for themselves. Their duties are generally simple, coordinating and administrating the terror fleets, but they are also charged with special meditations and exercises to enhance their psionic abilities. Heralds consume a special diet, devouring victims with the maximum life force--a psionic attribute which Zuul call etthi. The lack of a coterie, the rigorous course of training and the highly "saturated" diet alters them in fundamental ways, increasing the range and power of their telepathy. As tribute stations increase in size and volume of traffic, the heralds within grow more powerful. In the final stages, when the station at last becomes an Altar, the Heralds living in the inner sanctum are at the peak of their abilities. Their mission fulfilled at last, the priests join into a metaconcert and engage in a swift, silent and savage battle for psionic dominance. The winner becomes the Master of the resulting coterie, and sends forth their Call into the vast depths of space, seeking a patron deity. One of the seven Suul'ka always answers to the Herald, so long as any remain alive. When the Suul'ka arrives, it must feed immediately to replenish its physical and psionic reserves; many lives must be sacrificed. The joyful Herald coterie greets the deity and becomes a companion to the Suul'ka forever after, living within the master's armor. The Heralds whisper the will of Great Father into the ear of the divine, and insinuate themselves as deeply as possible into the body and soul of the gods. The Suul'ka Battlesuit Conventional Armaments and Defense All Suul’ka first come to the player dressed in a battlesuit. This suit was originally designed and built thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of years ago, and by the time the Suul’ka arrives to join a modern Zuul empire, its ancient weapons and defenses have often been destroyed, some of them lost for millennia, others more recently torn away. The very first thing the Zuul must do when the Great Masters arrive is refit the old suit with new armaments, using technology which they understand well enough to maintain and repair. Defensively speaking, the suit itself represents a formidable protective shell, and it will take quite a bit of firepower for any enemy to penetrate to the body beneath. Every suit was originally built with tentacles to allow its owner to manipulate objects and ward off threats, and these continue to serve as an additional layer of protection. The number of these tentacles attached to a suit will vary, as some Suul’ka are better at operating and coordinating multiple limbs at once. The function of the tentacles also varies: some are smashers, used to deliver blunt force like fists, while others are fitted with beam weapons to strike at greater range. Like a star ship, a battle suit also has a number of attachment points for Modules. Different Suul’ka will have different numbers of attachment points, which reflect not only their physical size and strength, but also their individual temperaments. Some Suul'ka are more inclined to use tools than others, and this inclination is reflected in the suit which each Great Elder designed, centuries ago. The Kraken has attachment points for the largest number of Modules, while the Siren has the fewest. There are five Module types available for every battlesuit, but mixing and matching them will allow the Zuul to provide the gods with some flexibility in tactics. Any given battlesuit Module can carry 6 light guns, 4 medium guns, 2 heavy guns, 3 bio missiles, or 3 Zuul assault shuttles. Suul'ka Psionic Abilities In addition to the defensive and offensive capabilities associated with the suit in tactical combat, the Suul’ka have powerful Psionic abilities which can be used strategically or tactically. All Suul'ka abilities are grounded in either Telepathy or Telekinesis, which every Liir possess at birth. In the Great Elders these are simply more powerful and advanced. Every Suul’ka is capable of using all the base powers, but most of the Lords specialize in one area or another, and will be able to direct their energies more efficiently if they stay within a personal comfort zone. *'Teleportation' **The Suul’ka method of personal faster-than-light transport is Teleportation. This is an extremely advanced form of telekinesis, and no other race in the game is capable of the brute force necessary to literally fold space. Every Suul’ka is able to transport itself and a certain tonnage of escort ships; the number of ships it can carry will depend on strength. **Teleportation can be used for both strategic and tactical movement. *'Heal' **All Liir, even the very small ones, are adept at healing. The species has a very long natural life span, limited only if they remain within a gravity well to die. One of the reasons that they live so long is that they use their psionic abilities to regenerate tissue damage, even at the molecular level. If given sufficient time to recover, a Suul'ka can heal even catastrophic damage to its body. It takes time and meditation, however, so the command to Heal its own flesh can only be issued during strategic turns. *'Life Drain' **All living things contain the energy of life. This energy is the sum of the electrical impulses of a nervous system, the chemical reactions of the respiration and photosynthesis, the kinetic energy of fluids in motion, and the potential energy bound within molecules, atoms, and sub-atomic particles, and the vitalist force of the universe itself, which attaches to all matter. **A Suul’ka is capable of attacking life at this fundamental level, and siphoning away the raw energy of life, which the Zuul call dhammai. They are able to devour the lives of other living things, in order to nourish or heal themselves. If a Suul’ka is injured and does not have time to Heal naturally, the Horde player can target a ship, planet or station for a Life Drain action in order to recover health. The victims of the Life Drain will literally weaken, wither, and even die. A thoroughly drained victim may actually freeze solid. **Life Drain can be used in both strategic and tactical play. *'Psi Drain' **Psionic energy is also known as Vital Force, which the Zuul call "etthi". There is nothing "supernatural" about psionic energy or psionic abilities; although Vital Force cannot be detected by instruments designed to measure electromagnetic radiation, it is this vast pool of energy which binds the universe into a single living system. All sufficiently complex living systems contribute to the total sum of the Vital Force in the universe, and accrue a tiny reservoir of Vital Force as a function of being alive, in much the same way that they accrue a minute gravitational force as a function of having mass. **The mind of a sapient being is more complex than that of non-sapient beings, and sapient creatures are a slightly richer source of Vital Force per gram than non-sentient life forms. By far the largest and richest sources of Vital Force in the universe are Biospheres, however. Huge, complex, massively interacting systems of life can accrue very large pools of Vital Force over the millions or billions of years they take to evolve. **Like all psionic practitioners, the Suul'ka have a natural inborn pool of Vital Force which they can expend by using psionic abilities. Unlike the majority of other sentients, however, they can also drain Vital Force from other living things, in order to increase their available fuel for psionic action. Sentient beings may die or suffer permanent damage as a result of a Psi Drain, however, and Biospheres will be destroyed permanently if drained. **Psi Drain can be used in both strategic and tactical play. *'Teach' **The Zuul have always had a disadvantage in research. At times they turn to their "gods" for guidance in the quest for knowledge, and the Suul'ka attempt to convey their knowledge of the universe and its workings telepathically. It is a process similar to "pushing" research, for other factions. Unfortunately, the mind of a Suul'ka is vast and unspeakably ancient, while the mind of any individual Zuul is tiny and frail by comparison. The price for Teaching is death for all who are too weak or confused to catch the spark of the idea; the Suul'ka will continue to burn minds until it finds the one Zuul capable of weakly mumbling "Eureka...please, Lord, stop..." **This ability can be used only in strategic turns. **''NOTE: This ability is currently NYI as of 7/10/2013'' *'Telekinetic Punch' **This is a straight-forward physical attack, directly analogous to a blow from a fist. The difference is that a Suul'ka mental fist is the size of a Cruiser, and delivers many tons of kinetic force. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Metakinesis, and link many minds into one. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Hold' **Like a TK Punch, this is a straight-forward use of massive telekinetic ability, which holds an enemy vessel in place, even if engines are firing at maximum. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop metaconcert ability, and link many minds into one. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Crush' **Another use of powerful telekinesis. A crushing attack exerts pressure on a ship's hull. On small ships it may engulf the entire ship at once; on larger vessels it may crush a section or do impact damage on the hull. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Metakinesis. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Repair Armor' **This discipline is one of the first developed by any Suul'ka, as the ability to repair and patch their own armour is vital to long-term survival in the void. The Suul'ka uses telekinesis to temporarily weld any breaches in the battlesuit, drawing the steel from surrounding armor. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Metakinesis. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Reflection' **Reflection is an extremely refined use of Telekinesis as a shield in combat; it creates a field which returns all beams, missiles and projectiles to their point of origin. **The ability to mount a Reflection defence is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Metakinesis and Reflection, although the latter is a very rare discipline. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Block' **Block is a mental defence, used to screen and spoof psionic methods of detection such as Life Sense, Far Sense, and Listening. It is a cloaking mechanism which shields the operator from other beings with psionic ability. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they master Telepathy. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Listen' **Listen is a scanning ability based in Telepathy. It allows the Listener to not only detect cloaked vessels, but see any movement commands issued to the enemy ships. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Telepathy, Life Sense and Far Sense ability. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Fear' **Fear is a powerful mental attack, available to those who master Empathy. The attacker rips open the hindbrain of the victim, and forces the brain to dredge up his or her fundamental terrors. The victim responds with panic, and whole crews at once can fire wildly and flee like frightened animals if the attack is successful. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop Empathy. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Coercion' **Coercion is a powerful psionic attack, available only to a few who master both Telepathy and Coercion. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races, and the Zuul are naturally adept. It can be used only in tactical combat. *'Inspiration' **Inspiration is the simplest of all psionic defence mechanisms. It is a wave of confidence and well-being which washes over the crew of a friendly ship or, if the broadcaster is as powerful as a Suul'ka, sometimes over a whole fleet simultaneously. It temporarily boosts the crew's resistance to certain forms of psionic attack, in particular Coercion and Fear. **This ability is not unique to Suul'ka; it can be mastered by other races if they develop elementary Empathy. It can be used only in tactical combat. The Seven (Eight) *'The Siren' **The Siren Also Known As: Drown-Scream, Sings Too Sweetly Description: The most graceful and sinuous of the Great Old Ones, the Siren is also the only Suul'ka who has retained a feminine persona. She is by far the most powerful living coercer in the known galaxy, and her ability to invoke Fear in her enemies and Inspire her allies is also very formidable. Of all the Suul'ka, she is the only one who can make the crew of an enemy ship her permanent slaves (although even she is no longer able to control fleets for an extended period since her battle with the Black). It was She who once ensnared the Morrigi tribesmen and sent them screaming into battle against their own wives and children, commanding them to die by the thousands to destroy the orbital defences and picket fleets of many Morrigi worlds. She was the commander of the Kragodai, and all Morrigi bear a special grudge against her, particularly the Harpies. Vital Statistics: Age: 200,000 years Length: 1300 meters Tentacles: 4 (2 smashers, 2 beams) Module attachments: 4 Primary Ability: Coercion **The Zuul Herald of the Siren is called 'Fathermother' ' *'The Eldest **Also Known As: Whisperer-in-Darkness, the Traveler, the Immortal Description: Whether he is really the first-born or simply the oldest surviving Suul'ka is unknown, but in the pantheon of Great Old Ones, he is the most ancient and terrible by far. Physically there is very little left of him but bones and armor, animated by telekinesis and pure hate. The Immortal's flesh has rotted away, replaced over time by steel energy cores, tubes and wiring which lace his void-blasted skeleton. Capable of crimes and cruelties that no other being would even consider, the Immortal is rumoured to have survived the dreaded Xombie Plague by stripping his own bones of the infected flesh to rid himself of the incurable disease. His mind remains intact, and the indomitable will that burns in his scoured remains is an unspeakably powerful generator of Fear. His ability to Life Drain is also devastating, and of all the Suul'ka he is the best traveler, taking the longest strides from star to star. Vital Statistics: Age: 320,000 years Length: 2500 meters Tentacles: 4 smashers Module Attachments: 10 Primary Ability: Teleport, Fear, Life Drain **The Zuul Herald of the Eldest is called 'Lich-King' *'The Bloodweaver' **Also Known As: He Who Shapes, Zuul-Sire, Master Control Description: The Bloodweaver is a pure scientist, retaining for millennia his fascination with living things. His knowledge of cells, tissues, bacteria and viruses is encyclopaedic, and his control of Life as a medium for vile works of art is unsurpassed. He is a master of biological warfare, a fount of plagues and calamities, and his own body seems to serves as a canvas for his cancerous art. He was the Creator of the Zuul race, and the Zuul adore him as their special paternal deity. Of all the Suul'ka, he is also the best instructor in the sciences, and causes the lowest death rates when he attempts to Teach his creations. The Zuul express their desire for communion with him inhabiting the exterior of his battle suit, living and dying in a barnacle-like encrustation of domes and towers; many of them live and commune with their father daily in the holy city of Angh Nagara. They provide him with an especially powerful defence, manning the turrets and missile launchers on his back. Vital Statistics: Age: 180,000 years Length: 1800 meters Tentacles: 2 tentacles (smashers) Module Attachments: 8 Primary Ability: Teach, Bio-warfare **The Zuul Herald of the Bloodweaver is called 'Plaguefather' *'The Hidden' **The Hidden Also Known As: Shadows-the-Stars, Swims in Silence Description: The Hidden has devoted his immortal energies to stealth and silence, cloaking his body and mind in a psionic shroud which not even his fellow Suul'ka can penetrate. Naturally inclined to subtlety and guile, it is his pleasure to Listen without being heard, to see without being seen. The Hidden's ability to Block can cloud the minds of an entire solar system, and his shroud of protection extends to a large tonnage of accompanying ships. His telepathic eavesdropping is second to none. The Hidden has always been envious of the Siren’s ability to enslave her victims permanently. His one attempt to create his own Screamers was an attack on the Argos Naval Yard, during which he attempted to seize control of the newly christened S.F.S. Leviathan. Vital Statistics: Age: 150,000 years Length: 1300 meters Tentacles: 4 (2 smashers, 2 beams) Module Attachments: 8 Primary Ability: Listen, Block **The Zuul Herald of the Hidden is called 'Hooded' *'The Kraken' **Also Known As: Man of War, Thundering Fists Description: The Kraken is by far the greatest natural athlete among the Suul'ka, with strength and dexterity that put all others to shame. He can move the largest tonnage of ships of any Lord of Winter, and also operates the largest number of tentacles, and delivers the most powerful telekinetic attacks. Of all the Great Old Ones he is most likely to engage in direct physical confrontation with the enemy. He delights in battle for its own sake, and his Suit is by far the most battle-ready, armed with an array of thick and powerful tentacles and frontal weapons. Vital Statistics: Age: 140,000 years Length: 1700 meters Tentacles: 6 (2 smashers, 4 beams) Module Attachments: 12 Primary Ability: Punch, Crush, Hold **The Zuul Herald of the Kraken is called 'Warmonger' *'The Cannibal' **Also Known As: Always-Empty, Famine Description: Driven by madness and the memory of a lifetime past, the Cannibal hungers to hunt, kill and feed. In the hidden reaches of the Black Sea he has found new sources of sustenance. Over the course of millennia he has left countless worlds barren and cold. There are dark rumours of his feeding on strange life-forms that sail from star to star, or battling and devouring great Spectres in the deep. Drawn into the battle with the Younger Races, the Cannibal is especially adept at Life and Psi Drain attacks, targeting the crews of ships and stations to feed his endless gluttony. Vital Statistics: Age: 270,000 years Length: 1900 meters Tentacles: 6 (4 smashers, 2 beams) Module Attachments: 8 Primary Ability: Life Drain, Psi Drain **The Zuul Herald of the Cannibal is called 'Glutton' *'The Deaf' **Also Known As: Ice-Heart, He Does Not Hear Description: Particularly terrifying to Psionic races, the Deaf is the most resistant to Psionic attack of all the Suul'ka. When confronted mind to mind, he appears as a towering maze of mirrors and ice, impenetrable and deadly cold. In battle he is not only immune to all psi-based attacks, but able to shield his accompanying fleet from psionic attack as well. His armoured suit is sealed against the outside universe, and his mind is defended from all unwanted contact with other life forms. His Reflection defence is very powerful. Vital Statistics Age: 240,000 years Length: 1400 meters Tentacles: 4 (2 smashers, 2 beams) Module Attachments: 8 Primary Ability: Reflection, Immune to Psionic Attack **The Zuul Herald of the Deaf is called 'Faceless-One'